MOORESVILLE, N.C. — With spring flowers in full bloom, the new racing season is gaining momentum, and whether you are a fan of high-level, professional competition or wheel-to-wheel, short-track action, there is an aura of excitement and anticipation.
From new hard-charging racers to ageless veterans still pushing the limit, here are some of the things we’ve observed so far and little insight into what will have our attention as the year moves forward.
■ Who are you watching this season?
I’m keeping an eye on Buddy Kofoid as he campaigns winged sprint cars on a full-time basis. Kofoid dominated the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget Series en route to a second consecutive title last season while driving for Keith Kunz Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.
This year, the 22-year-old California driver has committed to a full season with Crouch Motorsports. While the team plans to race with the World of Outlaws, All Star Circuit of Champions and High Limit Sprint Car Series, Kofoid started the season by running the first eight World of Outlaws events.
He picked up a victory at the Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., and collected five top-10 finishes.
He’ll be one to reckon with no matter where he races.
■ Riley Herbst may have finally figured out the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
After three seasons in which he mostly struggled, the 24-year-old Stewart-Haas Racing driver drove the No. 98 Ford to top-10 finishes in each of this season’s first six races.
Meanwhile, his SHR teammate, Cole Custer, who returned to the Xfinity Series after three seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, had only one top-10 finish during the same period.
■ Ageless Ken Schrader is set to compete at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway and Flat Rock (Mich.) Speedway on consecutive nights, May 12-13. He’s slated to run a school bus figure-8 event at Toledo on the track’s opening night, before stepping into a stock car at Flat Rock’s quarter-mile oval.
■ The Sunshine State 200 kicked off the ASA STARS National Tour season March 10 at Florida’s Five Flags Speedway. The first true national late model tour to hit the track in more than two decades drew 35 entries from 16 states and Canada with late model veteran Casey Roderick claiming the top prize.
Among the heavy hitters in the field were Bubba Pollard, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Jeremy Doss, Preston Peltier, Derek Thorn, Stephen Nasse and Jacob Gomes, who has won a pair of SRL Southwest Tour super late model events already this season.
Round two of the series will be the Joe Shear Classic on May 7 at Wisconsin’s Madison Int’l Speedway.
■ Youth continues to be served at America’s short tracks. Among the many teenaged sons or daughters of racers currently making noise in micro sprints, midgets or sprint cars are Cale Coons (Jerry Coons Jr.), Creed Kemenah (Chad Kemenah), Landon Crawley (Tim Crawley) Kassidy Kreitz (Don Kreitz Jr.) and Cole Dewease (Lance Dewease).
The future is bright.
■ Teenagers are also finding success in the Trans-Am Series. Fourteen-year-old Brent Crews and 18-year-old Connor Zilisch, both of North Carolina, recently posted TA2 class victories.
Crews, a frequent midget competitor who has won with the POWRi Midget League, earned his sixth Trans-Am class victory at NOLA Motorsports Park, while Zilisch triumphed at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Crews and Zilisch were second and third, respectively, in the standings after three races, with former Indy car driver Rafa Matos leading the way.
■ Anyone else interested in what Chevrolet will do in terms of a NASCAR Cup Series entry after the 2024 season? The manufacturer plans to discontinue production of the Camaro, which it races in NASCAR’s top two series, next year and currently has no other model that would fit the bill.
■ It was certainly unexpected and seemed a bit unusual when A.J. Allmendinger announced a full-time return to NASCAR Cup Series competition with Kaulig Racing.
As strange as it sound, however, a little bit of luck is all it may take for Allmendinger to contend for the Cup Series title.
We all know “Dinger” could easily win one of the five remaining road course races to earn a spot in the playoffs, then it just takes a little luck and some consistency to advance from round to round. We’ll be paying attention.
■ Anyone else see the irony in Chase Elliott being injured in a snowboarding accident?
For years, team owner Rick Hendrick forbid drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson from participating in other forms of auto racing.
Only recently did Hendrick reverse course, and he now allows all four of his drivers (Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman) to compete in other types of racing.
Still, Elliott will miss more than two months thanks to a non-racing injury.
■ The Eldora Million, a $1 million-to-win sprint car race, will be run July 13 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. Might we see multiple teams spend the first half of the year primarily preparing for this historic event?
This story appeared in the April 12, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
